"The wind ain't blowing too nicely outside…" Satoshi sat in the guild hall of Shaman's Haven, taking a sip of sake after the communication with all of the other guilds. "These demons are stirring up unnecessary trouble for the rest of us…"

"Just let me at 'em!" Mason shouted with confidence. "I'll take out any demon that even tries to step up to Shaman's Haven. They won't have a chance."

"Settle down, Mason…" Satoshi could not help but grin slightly at Mason's excitement. "We're not making any hasty moves until those reinforcements from another guild arrive. Until then we're sitting put."

Hearing that reinforcements were coming just made Mason's grin wider. "Heh…I hope some of those girls from Sorcerer's Weekly drop by. They're not on the covers for nothing, you know?" This young man was secretly hoping their backup would be along the lines of Mirajane or Jenny.

"I'm still worried…" Melanie said while poking her fingers together. "They're after the Wizard Saints, right?" A concerned gaze went to Satoshi. "Doesn't that put you in danger, Master?"

"Mm…" Satoshi was well aware of this fact, but he did not show much concern as to not worry those in his guild. "I'm not worried."

"Of course, you've got us." Azur flexed. "Roy's not back yet, but I guess it won't take long for the big guns to arrive after that message we got a few hours ago. But we'll just have to hold the fort down on our own."

"Exactly." Mason nodded a few times. "Just leave it to me. I will take charge in Roy's stead!"

"Who died and made you leader, short stack?" Azur looked down at Mason with a mix between a quizzical expression and a cocky grin. "Just leave the leadership to the big kids, aka me, got it?"

"You tryna go!?" Mason puffed his chest out, glaring towards Azur. Comical lightning began to zap from their shared gaze, but leave it to Melanie to shove the two away from each other.

"You two need to knock it off…!" The water dragon slayer exclaimed. She was about to say more, however her nose twitched from an unfamiliar scent. "…? What is that smell…?" Furthermore, her ears were picking up some high pitched squeal. "…! Wait a second, everyone get down!" Right after she said that, a large explosion blew off most of the Shaman's Haven's guild hall.

Luckily, Azur created a shield of water vapor to protect everyone present from the force of the explosion. Dispelling the barrier, he stared up at the somewhat disappointed Jackal. "Looks like one of them decided to drop in early…"

"Keh…and here I was hoping to blow at least one of you to bits. How unfortunate." Jackal ignored everyone else excluded Satoshi. "All right, Wizard Saint. I'll make this quic-" Before he could finish, a metal pellet struck him square in the forehead, snapping his head back. Growling, the explosive demon stared at Mason, who held his slingshot at the ready while sticking his tongue out childishly.

"You're gonna have to go through us first, ugly." Mason said.

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"This is it..." Tobias said while on the a lacrima device with Ruika and Rugal. "We've done everything we can at this point. Ruika...Rugal...you've done your parts, yes?"

"Yeah..." Ruika said with a slow nod.

"I've made sure everything is in place." Rugal replied. "This moment...it's frightening. We are turning our backs on them for good. This plan of theirs puts too much at risk, and I do not want to be a part of it for much longer."

"If anything happens...I can take care of it." Ruika said. "But you're in danger, Tobias. You should really get moving."

"There's one more thing I have to do before I leave." Tobias said with a low whisper. "Once I do that, I'll signal you, Rugal. Leaving Tartarus isn't just the hard part, but what we do after isn't going to be easy either..." Far from it. Surely, neither Marde nor Daityas would just ALLOW them to leave. But if they were gone, what could they do…? They were branded as monsters and were seen killing a Wizard Saint. Could they even turn their lives around...?

Marde appeared behind Tobias, Jellal was forced to go with him as well for what was about to be a 'demonstration'. "What did you just say, Tobias?"

With a chill rushing up his spine, Tobias quickly crushed his device within his palm and turned to Marde with a nervous smile. Ruika and Rugal had shocked expressions, and that was the last thing they saw from Tobias. "Oh, nothing, Marde-sama…! Wait…why is the captive roaming freely around with you?"

"Until everything is set, he is to accompany me. He has little reason to resist due to us having his little female friend locked in the dungeon." Marde explained. "But that is not relevant to this topic. I want to know what you were talking about. Would it have anything to do with Ruika and Rugal's lack of activity as of late? You're guilty of this as well. You three haven't done much after you murdered Wizard Saint Draco."

Was Tobias really going to rat them out? Of course not. But he knew Marde Geer. He wasn't escaping this without an answer. And whatever answer he gave only had two outcumes. "Ah…it was just…a discussion on what would happen if we left Tartarus. It was my own hypothesis...of course, I could never go through with such an idea. That would be tempting fate...they even scoffed at me for suggesting such a thing."

"I see…" Marde nodded slowly. In the next instant he grabbed Tobias by the neck and slammed him against a wall, glaring towards Tobias. "Tempting? After all we've done for you, it's 'tempting' for you to leave? I see you've forgotten your place in this castle, Tobias. You are but a disgusting who happened to catch Daityas' eye. You do not have any right to try and up and leave as you place. You know what? You don't deserve your soul anymore. Franmalth."

"Ngh...!" Tobias' eyes widened as Marde grasped his throat. He thought he could worm his way out of this, but he should've known better. The moment Marde overheard him, his fate was sealed. Tobias quickly placed his hand on the wall, a faint purple glow appearing from his palm as Marde's hand slowly began to crush his throat.

On that cue, Franmalth, fully recovered, appeared. "My my…I'm very disappointed, Tobias. I liked you. But how much is the price for such treason? How much? Your soul." Several appendages shot out from Franmalth's body and wrapped around Tobias who had no way out.

"GAAAAAAAAAAH!" Tobias cried out as Franmalth began to drain his soul out of his body. He could feel his very essence leave him, and there was nothing he could do. "Ruika...Rugal...this was the best I could do for you..."

After a few moments Tobias became an empty shell, dropping to the floor while Franmalth consumed his soul; it was just the pick me up he needed after Bickslow's stunt earlier. "Ah! Much better!"

"…." Jellal quietly sucked in a breath. If Angel had not been brought into this castle he would've longed made a move long ago. But after watching how they dealt with insubordination with no remorse even he felt a little hesitant.

Keith happened to witness the event, now approaching Marde shortly before leaving for his set operation. "Marde-sama…I see an opportunity here. Can I take Tobias' empty shell and experiment on it?"

"Do whatever you wish, Keith." Marde replied and started to walk off, Jellal reluctantly following behind. "I will not allow anything to stand in the way of the revival of Master END. Not even those branded with the same mark."

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"Tobias!? Tobias!" Ruika shouted into her lacrima device with wide eyes. Something in her heart hurt at Tobias' final expression. She heard Marde's voice on the other side, and there was...no doubt about what happened. She grit her teeth, this foreign feeling in her chest growing stronger and stronger. "What the hell...you should've left when you had the chance! What did you think you were going to accomplish...!? You selfish..."

"...He saved us." Rugal appeared beside Ruika, glancing away with a pained expression. "If Marde-s...Marde, knew we agreed with this...he would've..."

Ruika clenched a hand into a fist. Tobias was a pain in the ass, but he was human, just like her. That was the one thing she and Tobias had in common. They weren't all friends, but what they had was working for them... "Damn you, Tobias..." She had something shining gold within her clenched hand. To think, this would be the cost of turning their backs on that dark path.

"...What we do now...can no longer be a mistaken." Rugal said firmly. Tobias didn't have the chance to turn back, but he gave it to them. As such...they had to use this chance.

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Azur formed a chained hook composed of water vapor and threw it forward at Jackal. The demon caught it just before it struck him, facing the mage with a toothy grin. "Before we start, I should probably let you know…my curse activates whenever I touch something. Like so…" Just like that, a line of explosions traveled down the chain until finally reaching Azur, blowing him through a wall. "HAHA! That never gets old!"

Satoshi was about to step forward, but he was stopped by Melanie. "...?"

"Master, just leave this to us! You attacking is exactly what they want!" Melanie said to Satoshi before pointing her hands at Jackal. "Water Dragon's Prison!" The slayer formed a sphere of water that trapped and suspended Jackal in midair. "Mason, now!"

"On it!" Mason pulled his slingshot back, a yellow magic seal forming just in front of him. "Lightning Shot!" Releasing the string, another pellet shot forward, breaking through the yellow magic seal to become coated in high voltage electricity. The pellet shot into the sphere of water trapping Jackal, super charging the water to inflict massive damage on the demon. "How's that!?"

Gritting his teeth from annoyance and pain, Jackal's body emitted an explosion that dispersed the water from around him. These annoying humans were actually putting some damage on him! "Okay, I'm done toying around with you humans! Every time you always seem to get in my way somehow!"

"Someone sounds a little irritated!" Azur thrusted his arms forward, unleashing several spears of scalding water vapor at Jackal. The demon crossed its arms, sliding back from the spears that struck him.

No one let up. Lightning exploded from around Melanie's body, activating her Water-lightning dual mode. Her cheeks began to inflate as she inhaled, collecting both water and lightning within her mouth. "Roar of the Water Lightning Dragon!" Throwing her head forward, a fierce torrent of water infused with lightning was sent forward. This struck Jackal and lifted him off his feet, the two elements blowing the demon away and out of the guild. After the roar, Melanie panted softly and nodded to her fellow guild mates. "I think we did it!"

"Not bad, not bad." Mason nodded several times. "How was that, Satoshi!"

"Well…" Satoshi was about to say something, but the ensuing explosion cut him off. A helix explosion occurred, more or less completely destroying the Shaman's Haven's guild hall, burying everyone under the rubble. "Agh…these demons…" Satoshi grunted while pushing some of the rubble off of him. "They really know how to disrupt the wind's flow…"

"I'm really getting sick of you humans putting up a fight…" The moderately injured Jackal rotated his shoulder while giving a sick grin. "But you know, it's fun watching that will to fight drain from your spirit slowly. Makes this annoying effort all worth it. Who should I start with first?" Melanie, Mason, and Azur were all incapacitated by the debris that fell on them, and it was clear if Satoshi made a move they'd all be at risk anyway. "Let's see…." Before Jackal could do anything else, a bomb was thrown in his face and exploded, causing him to stagger several steps backwards. "What the…!? What NOW?!"

"Yeesh…" Roy bounced a bomb in one hand. Although his face was always covered by a mask, that disapproving frown on his lips was very visible. "I leave for a few days and things go to hell." But he gave a nod of approval to the trio that tried to defend the guild and Satoshi. "You guys did great. I saw you kicked his ass out of the building, so this brat of a demon had to destroy it from the outside."

Roy's words got under Jackal's skin. With a feral growl Jackal pointed at Roy. "Who the hell are you?!"

"Roy. The Ace of Shaman's Haven. Explosive specialist." Roy responded before juggling several bombs in his hands." And I gotta say…what I've seen from you…is nothing more than a mere child playing with a firecracker."

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Emeraude let out a small sigh, reading through the reports of Fiore's current status. "Demons attacking…Wizard Saints and Council members are either targets or dead…and there have been an unforgiving amount of casualties. Tartarus is quite an issue, isn't it?"

"Indeed…" Hisui frowned. "They've always preformed stunts in the past, but nothing to this caliber…I don't know what they could be after…"

Standing up, the new self-appointed Queen of Fiore began to walk off. "After taking a gander into those files, I have a feeling; something that links both of them together…and if that's the case, then my reign over this country won't even start."

"Emeraude, where are you going?" Hisui stood up and started to follow behind the new Queen with a concerned expression.

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Gajeel, Levy, Pantherlily, and Droy were in the home of a Council member. However, she was already dead by the time they arrived. Belno was lying down on the ground with her eyes closed, no longer breathing. Gajeel clenched his hand into a fist; the terrible feeling he had in the pit of his stomach was correct. "..."

"When did this happen..." That was Pantherlily's question. Did Tartarus make their move even sooner than the announcement?

"It doesn't even look like this place was disturbed..." Droy commented while looking around. There were no signs of a struggle anywhere. "She probably didn't even realize it until..."

"...Tobias." Gajeel said. This caused the others to look at him.

"How can you tell?" Levy looked to Gajeel, who wore a serious expression.

"His scent. It's faint, but I can pick it up." Gajeel answered while looking towards Belno's body. There was a scowl on his lips as he looked at her. If it wasn't for her... "I don't how know he did it, but I know he was the one behind it."

"Gajeel..." Even if Gajeel was only showing anger, Levy could see the sadness within him as well.

"We're done here..." Gajeel turned around and left the house. There wasn't anything that could be done for Belno right now. But he'd swear that he'd make Tobias pay for this, one way or another. That was the least he could do. "We have to report this to the old man."

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Roy and Jackal threw punches that clashed. An explosion occurred from the force of their collision and both of them slid back. Jackal's curse seal was branded on Roy's fist, causing the demon to laugh. "AHAHA! NOW BLOW TO BITS!" BOOM! An explosion occurred on Roy on the spot…and when it faded, Roy was just fine. "W-WHAT?!"

"I've dealt with explosions far worse than this." Roy said while shaking his hand as steam came from it. "This is child's play." The ace then pointed at Jackal's hand, where a similar seal lay in wait. "But uh…you got a little something. Called a Sticky Bomb, right there on you."

Jackal's eyes widened as he glanced at his own hand. That seal lit up before exploding powerfully, sending Jackal flying backwards as he received a taste of his own medicine. Sliding backwards after landing, Jackal stared at Roy with widened eyes. "W-What the hell are you!? Are you mocking me!?" With a roar, Jackal swung his hand forward to create a spiral explosion on Roy.

"Definitely." Roy smirked before pulling out his bomb bag, opening it up as a vacuum effect. The vacuum of his bottomless bomb back sucked in the explosion. Tying the knot on the bag, Roy then gave it a mighty toss at Jackal where…a larger spiral explosion occurred! Roy's special bag doubled the strength of Jackal's own attack! With a roar of pain Jackal flew backwards before landing on the ground, completely enraged.

"DAMN YOU HUMANS! EXPLODE INTO A MILLION PIECES! DIE DIE DIE!" Jackal began to rapid fire curse bombs at Roy. At the same time, Roy began to throw bombs just as quickly as Jackal, explosions filling the area until Roy's finally came to a halt. This led Jackal to believe Roy was finished. "HA! There shouldn't even be a body now."

And through the smoke, Roy's hand was right in Jackal's face. "Boom." An icy/fiery explosion occurred, sending Jackal skidding across the ground on his back. "Come now, demon…you're not going to defeat me."

"You…" Jackal's lips turned into a deranged smile. He was backed into a corner, and wasn't going to beat this guy in a fair fight. But he was under no obligation to play fair. Extending his hand forward, several black spheres formed around Azur, Satoshi, Melanie, and Mason. "I'll play a game with you, how's that sound!? I'll let you pick which one dies first, and if you so much as twitch I'll kill them all!"

"Agh…" Roy's momentum stopped completely as everyone was put in danger. "So that's your game, huh? You know you can't beat me."

"Roy…!" With everyone's lives at sake, this situation took a grim turn. Everyone looked to the Ace, the only person who could get them out of this situation. His mask was on, so nobody could see the tense expression that hid under the smiling face.

"So what now, big shot!?" Jackal questioned, his insanity rising every second. "WHO'S GONNA DIE!? WHOSE LIFE DO YOU CHOOSE!?"

"YOURS!" A voice shouted from out of nowhere. Natsu arrived on the scene, slamming his elbow into Jackal's chest to send him into an empty building nearby. "I choose yours." Behind him, Happy, Lucy, Wendy, Alex, and Carla arrived and witnessed the scene.

"You again!?" Jackal shook his head. Natsu wanted to fight him again? "You just don't learn, do you!? My curse!"

"Oh, that? See, I figured something out from our last encounter…" The seal on Natsu's elbow shone brightly; however before it exploded he put it in his mouth and…BOOM! While it exploded, Natsu seemed 100% fine. He learned from last time. "Eating a bomb…actually isn't all that difficult."

"W-What the hell…"Jackal's eyes widened in what was pure fear. These humans he was dealing with…they couldn't be human…

With an animalistic grin on his lips, Natsu stared at Jackal. "Time for payback. 100 times over."

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Next Time: The Big Bang.